Valve mechanism foe hydraulic elevators



(Nb Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1. A. SUNDH. VALVE MECHANISM FOR HYDRAULIC ELEVATORS.

No. 454,410. Patented June 16,1891.

INVEN'TDR= WITNEESEE= (No Model.) 4 Sheefis-Sheet 2.

A. SUNDH. VALVE MECHANISM FOR HYDRAULIC ELEVATORS. No. 454,410. Patented June 16,1891.

W! T NEESEE 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

Patented June 16,1891.

A. SUNDH.

(No Model.)

VALVE MECHANISM FOR HYDRAULIG ELEVATORS. No. 454,410.

we numus FETLRS cm. P

WITNESSES; M LMWW (No Modem 4 Sheets-Sheet 4. A. SUNDH. VALVE MECHANISM FOR HYDRAULIC ELEVATORS.

110. 454,410. PatentedJune 16, 1891.

III/l? I A INVENTDR:

WIT NEEEEE;

ms Force's cu, nuovwumo \VASNNGTON, a.

UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AUGUST SUNDH, OF YONKERS, NE\V YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ERNEST BOENING, OF SAME PLACE.

VALVE MECHANISM FOR HYDRAULIC ELEVATORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 454,410, dated June 16, 1891.

Application filed May 6, 1890. Serial No. 350,749- (No morleL) To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, AUGUST SUNDH, a citizen of Sweden, and a resident of Yonkers, in the county of lVestchester and State of New York, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Valve Mechanism for Hydraulic Elevators, of which the following is a specification. t

My invention relates to means for working the distributing-valve which controls the inlet of the liquid from the accumulator to and the exhaust from the cylinder in which the car-actuating piston works and it consists of an auxiliary piston and valve mechanism for working said distributing-valve by the power of the accumulator in lieu of the cord and other mechanism now employed for working said distributing-valve by the hand-power of the conductor directly applied.

The object is to provide more controllable and easier-working apparatus for large elevators than the present means now in use, all

as hereinafter fully described, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a top view of the car-actuating cylinder and plan of the apparatus as I prefer to arrange it, partly in horizontal sect-ion, with the car indicated in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a vertical section on line to .r of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical section on line y 3 and also shows part of the accumulator. Fig. 4 is a vertical sect-ion of the main valve in a plane at right angles to that of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a plan View, partly in horizontal section,showing a modified arrangement of the apparatus on a larger scale. Fig. 6 is partly a plan view and partly a horizontal section of a modified arrangement, in which it is shown that slide D-Valves may be used to carry out my invention. Fig. 7 is a side elevation of part of the apparatus of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 isamodified form of the push-rod shifter in front elevation. Fig. 9 is a detail showing the conductors hand-lever device for working the valve-shifting gear by the shaft suspended in the ele vator-way. Fig. 10 is a modification showing the application of the ordinary eonductors rope for working the said valve-shiftinggear.

A represents the vertical cylinder, in which the piston 11 works foract-uating the car 0 (partly shown in full lines in Fig. 9 and dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 10) in the usual manner through the instrumentality of liquid admitted to the upper end from the accumulator (Z through the pipes e f and actuating the piston b and exhausted from it by the controlling-valve g, hereinafter called the main valve, thepipe c forming the communication between the accumulator d and said main valve and the pipe f connecting said valve with the top of the cylinder. Communication is opened between pipes c andfto admit the fluid to cylinderA for forcing the piston down and raising the car through passage '1 when the main valve 9 is raised so that the cavities j in it coincide with the terminals or ports of said passage 1' and the pipes c and f. This communication is closed and the exhaust is opened for the escape of the liquid from the cylinder to al -low the piston to rise and the car to descend when the main valve is shifted, so that its cavity opens port of pipe f to the exhaustpassage h. Said communication is also closed and the exhaust likewise to hold the car at restwhcn the main valve is shifted to the middle position, in which said main valve is represented in Figs. 2 and 3.

It is to be understood that the exhaust-passage h is in practice connected by a suitable pipe with the receiving-tank for the liquid, which is thereafter forced into the accumulator again in the well-known arrangement of hydraulic elevators. It is also to be understood that as thus far described the apparatus is all of the well-known construction. My invention comprises the following-described auxiliary hydraulic apparatus for thus actuating the said main valve to work the car. I employ a piston Z in a cylinder at for working said valve by liquid from the accumulator duly admitted to and exhausted from said cylinder, said piston being represented in this example as connected directly to the upper end of the rod or stem of the valve; but it is to be understood that it may be connected to the lower end in the same manner, or it may be connected indirectly to either end by any approved form of intermediate apparatus.

It is to be noted that the piston Z stands in the median position of the cylinder on when the main valve is in its median position, and is to be shifted up or down, according as the car is to be raised or lowered, and is always to be brought to the median position to stop and hold the car at rest. To raise said piston and main valve for moving the car upward, the valve at p is used. To return said piston and main valve from the upward position to the middle and stop and hold the car on the upward run, the valve at t is used. To cause said piston and valve to shift from the middle position downward and cause the car to move downward, the valve at s is used, and to return the said piston and main valve from below upward and stop and hold the car on the downward run the valve at q is used. The valves 19 and s are ordinary balanced pistonvalves, each having an inlet-passage u and exhaust-passage "u, with corresponding inlet and exhaust pipes to v. The inlet-pipe u of valve 19 connects with cylinder m at the lower end, and the corresponding pipe of valve 8 connects with said cylinder at the upper end, as best shown in Fig. 3. The exhaust-pipe o of valve 1) exhausts from the upper end of cylinder m, and the corresponding pipe of valve 8 exhausts from the lower end of said cylinder, these exhaust-pipes being respectively connected with the inlet of the other valve between said valves and said cylinder, so that when the inlets of said other valves are closed and these are opened the liquid returns through the latter. The inlet-pipes to, leading'to the valves, as indicated by the arrows 1, Figs. 1 and 5, are to be understood as connecting with the accumulator d, and the exhaust-pipes 1), leading therefrom, as indicated by the arrows 2, are to be understood as connected with the receiving-tank, from which the exhaust-liquid is pumped into the accumulator, as usual. To operate these valves from the car by the conductor, 1 have provided a vertical shaft w to extend along up the elevator-way, either through the car 0 or just outside of it, and so connected with the conductors hand-lever a Fig. 9, that he has the means of turning it to right or left at will half a revolution, or thereabout, said shaft being suspended from its upper end, so that said conductors lever or other device coupling said lever with the shaft may slide along the shaft with the car and be utilized at any point along the shaft for turning it. In this case said lever a is connected with said shaft by the bevel-wheels b and 0 the former being fitted on the axis of said lever mounted in the side of the car, and the latter is carried in the bracket (1 and slides along the shaft. The lower end of the shaft is suitably confined in a step 00, and it carries an arm y, preferably having a frictionroller a in the free end, which, taking effect on the push lever b or 0', according as the shaft is turned one way. or the other, opens one or the other of the valves, as is clearly represented in Fig. 1. The springs d return the valves to their normal positions and close them when relieved of the action of arm 3 bythe return of it to its normal position.

It will be seen that when either of the valves 10 or s is opened liquid from the accumulator is admitted to one side of the pistonl and exhausted from the other side by said valve, and when the piston Z reaches the end of its up or down movement from the center position it remains in that position while the car continues to run, the valve 13 or 5 being allowed to close after having shifted the piston. Then for returning the piston Z to the middle position and stopping and holding the car one or the other of the valves q t is brought into use to permit the escape of sufficient of the liquid in cylinder m to enable the piston to so return and to admit other liquid behind said piston and force the return of the piston to said middle position. WVhen so returned to the middle position, the said valve q or 6 thus used is automatically closed. The main valve then stops, and with the other valves closed holds the said main valve in the middle position, which likewise stops and holds the car. These valves q t are also ordinary balanced piston-valves and have inlet-passages e and exhaust-passages f. The liquid from the accumulator flows to the inlet-passages, when open, through the pipe 9 and branches h, and thence to the cylinder m through valves i and inlet-pipes a, respectively, said valvest" being connected with the inlet-pipes u and also connected with the inlet-passages e bythe branch pipesj'; but they may be dispensed with, as they are only employed as an additional means of security against leak and the consequent shifting of the car when it is to be held stationary. The exhaust-passages f of these valves (1 t are also connected with the cylinder m by the pipes 76', but at the ends opposite to those connected with their inlet-passages e', and they discharge into pipes Z, through which the liquid returns to the receiving-tank. The valve q is to be opened to cause thepiston Z to rise from the lower position and stop the car on the downward run, and the valve 15 is to be opened to cause said piston to descend from the upper position and stop the car on the upward run. To open these valves by the same shaft 10 and arm by which the valves 19 s are opened, they are so placed that their stems m nearly converge in the apex of a triangle of which they form the two sides, and in front of the end of the push-rod at, whose other end is pivoted at 0 in the sliding box 1'), so as to vibrate laterally, and having springs q to return it to the normal position. The box in which this pushrod is pivoted is so placed relatively to the levers s and the arm 1 that in the range of said arm from one to the other of the pushlevers b c for working valves 19 sit will slide push-rod a forward to open one or the other of the valves q 25, according as it is directed against the end of one or the other of the stems m of said valves, which must be the stem of valve 25 if the car is goin up, or the stem of valve (1 if it is going down. The spring e shifts the pushrod back. For so directing the'push-rod the push-rod shifter t is provided, said shifter being connected to the main valve 72 by the bar ta or it may be any other approved contrivance whereby said shifter may be made to shift up and down synchronously with said valve. It is located in the vertical line of the free end of the push-rod, and at b it has reverse inclines, or it may be a cam-slot, as represented in Fig. 8, so arranged with relation to said pushrod that when valve 9 rises and opens pipes e f and passage t to admit the liquid to cylinder A for working the car upward it will shift push-rod n to the range of the stem of the valve 25, ready for the conductor to open it by the shaft to, and stop the car on the up ward run, and when valve 9 descends and opens the exhaust from cylinder A to let the car descend said shifter will shift push-rod 07. over to the range of the stem of valve q, ready for the conductor to open said valve and stop the car on the downward run. The piston Z and the main valve quickly return to the center position when either of these valves q or t is opened, and the shifter also, which releases the opened valve from the push-rod and its spring 7L2, closes it. Then when the conductor shifts shaft to and arm y to open one of the valves 1) or s for starting the car again the push-rod carrying slide 1) is released, and its spring 6 returns it to the normal position, ready for operation again. The push-rod shifter is also made to close valves t" when it returns to the center position to afford additional security against shifting of the car by leakage through valves q 25 when standing, said valves t" then constituting a second cut-off in the inlet-passages uj to cylinder m. To accomplish this, said shifter is provided with the bowcam f which projects into the middle vertical plane between said valves and studs, with its greatest projection in the horizontal plane of said valves when the shifter is in the middle position, and said valves are coupled to the levers g the free ends of which meet in front of the cam, so that when said cam comes to said middle position from either direction it forces them in the direction to close said valves, and when it moves away again, either up or down, it leaves the levers and valves free to permit the latter to be opened bythe springs 7L3. There is also another valve t in the inlet g h from the accumulator as a still further means of safety against shifting the car. It is located in the range of the cam f and the free ends of levers 9 so as to be closed by them when the push-rod shifter comes to the middle position, and is provided with a spring 7' to open it when the cam shifts away from said middle position either up or down; but this valve and the valves 2 may be omitted, if desired.

In Fig. 5 I represent a modified arrangement of the valves 1) s and q t, the valves 2" and 2' being omitted. Theyare connected for the operation of the liquid on the piston of cylinder m in just the same way, the principal difference being that the valves of each pair 19 s and q t are arranged in the opposite ends of a duplex cylinder, having apartition f at the middle, and instead of the push-rod n acting directly against the stems of the valves q t it is made to operate them by its bevel sides being forced against the ends of rods Z coupled to the stems of said valves by the levers m and the valves 13 s are so placed relatively to the shaft 10 that a separate arm 1 is employed for working them. The inlets of these valves q t are connected to inlet-passages u by branches j, about the same as in Figs. 1 and 3, but without the extra stopvalves 1', as before stated; but in this case I prefer to arrange the exhaust the same as with the valves 1; .9. Thus the exhaust-passagef of valve (1 exhausts from the upper end of cylinder m, and the corresponding exhaust-passage of valve 15 exhausts from the lower end of said cylinder, these exhaustpassages being respectively connected with the inlet of the other valve between the said valves and said cylinder by the pipes f In Figs. 6 and '7 it will be seen that I may also use ordinary D slide-valves, as 01 for shifting the main valve either up or down for working the car in either direction, according as it is shifted one way or the other by the arm of the shaft w, and valve 0 for shifting the piston back from either end of cylinder m to the middle for stopping and holding said valve in the middle position, according asit is worked in either direction by the push-rod n through rods Z and levers m substantially the same as the valves q tare operated. These valves are provided with springs 19 to return them to the middle position for closing both the inlet and exhaust passages. it represents the inlet-pipe to the valve 12 the same as to the valves 19, s, and g, the inlet tovalve 0 the same as to valves g 2%, and the exhaust-pipes may be similarly designated 4) and Z. :9 rep resents the passages from these valves to the upper end of cylinder m, and g the passages to the lower end. lVhile I prefer for some purposes to employ the shaft 20, as I have represented it, for working this valve-gear, I am not limited to it, for the rope 20 commonly employed for working the main valve, may be used, if desired, by arranging it in the guide-pulleys x and around a pulley on shaft to, as I have represented itin Fig. 10, said rope being preferably fastened to the pulley, as at 2 to prevent slipping.

I claim 1. The combination, with the main valve controlling the car in an elevator, of the mainvalve-actuating piston, one or more valves in the control of the conductors valve-shifter and controlling said valve-actuating piston for opening said main valve in either direction, and one or more valves, also in the con- IIO and controlling said valve-actuating piston for opening said main valve in either direction independently of and while the devices for closing said main valve remain in the normal conditions, and one or more valves, also in the control of the conductors valve-shifter and controlling said valve-actuating piston, for closing said main valve in either direction independently of and while the devices for opening said main valve remain in the normal conditions, substantially as described.

controlling the car in an elevator, of the mainvalve-actuating piston, one or more valves in the control of the conductors valve-shifter and controlling said valve-actuating piston, for opening said main valve in either direction, one or more valves, also in the control of the conductors valve-shifter and controlling said valve-actuating piston, for closing said main valve in either direction and holding it closed, and springs which close said auxiliary pistonvalves when relieved of the action of the conductors valve-shifter, substantially as described.

l. The combination,with the'niain valve controlling the car in an elevator, of the mainvalve-actuati'ng piston, one or more valves in the control of the conductors valve-shifter and controlling said valve-actuating piston for closing said main valve in either direction independently of and while the devices for opening said mainvalve remain in the normal conditions, and one or more valves, also in the control of the conductors valve-shifter and controlling said valve-actuating piston, for opening said main valve in either direction independently of and while the devices for closing said main valve remain in the normal conditions, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with the main valve, main-valve-shifting piston, and the valve or valves for actuating said piston to close the main valve, of the push-rod adapted to actuate said valve or valves to close the main valve from either direction, the conductors valve-shifter adapted to actuate said pushrod alike in either of its directions of movement, and the push-rod shifter connected with and actuated by the valve-rod and adapted to direct said push-rod to so actuate said valve or valves to close the main valve from either-direction, substantially as described.

6. The combination, with the conductors valve-shifter and the main valve, piston for actuating said main valve, and valve or valves for controlling said piston, of the sliding and vibrating push-rod and the push-rod shifter connected to and moving synchronously with the main valve and having the reverse inclines respectively arranged with and acting on the opposite sides of the said vibrating and sliding push-rod, substantially as described.

7. The combination, with the main-valveshifting piston and the conductors valveshifter, of the independent valves 193, each connected by inlet and exhaust passages with the opposite ends of the cylinder of said mainvalve-shifting piston, respectively, for actuating it in'opposite directions, said valves independently operative by said conductors valve-shifter and having springs independently closing them, substantially as described.

8. The combination, with the main-valveshifting piston and its cylinder and with the conductors valve-shifter, of the independent valves 13 s, normally maintained in position 3. The combination, with the main valve to prevent the escape of the Water from said cylinder, each connected by inlet and exhaust passages with the opposite ends of the cylinder of said main-valve-shifting piston forworking the piston in opposite directions, respectively, said valves independently operative for being opened by said conductors valve-shifter acting directly 011 them and having springs independently closing them, substantially as described.

9. The combination, with the mainvalveshifting piston and its cylinder and with the conductors valve-shifter, push-rod, and pushrod shifter, of the independent valves q 15, normally maintained in position to preventthe V escape of the Water from said cylinder, each connected by inlet and exhaust passages with the opposite ends of the cylinder of said mainvalve-shittin g piston for working the piston in opposite directions, respectively, saidvalves independently operative for being opened by said conductors valve-shifter, subject to the control of the push-rod shifter, and having springs independently closing them, substantially as described.

10. The combination, with the main-valveshifting piston and the conductors valveshifter, of the independent valves q t, each connected by inlet and exhaust passages with the opposite ends of the cylinder of said mainvalve-shitting piston for working the piston in opposite directions, respectively, and the auxiliary stop-valves 71' in the inlet-passages of the cylinder of said main-valve-shifting piston, and the closer of said stop-valves cou pled with and actuated by the rod of the said main-valve-actuating piston, substantially as described.

11. The combination, with the main-Valveshil'ting piston and the conductors valveshifter, of the independent valves 19 3, each connected by inlet and exhaust passages with the-opposite ends of the cylinder of said mainvalve-shifting piston for working the piston in opposite directions, respectively, also the valves q t, each similarly connected with said cylinder for working the piston in opposite directions, respectively, and the auxiliary LOO IIO

valve connected with and actuated by the rod of the said main-valve-actuating piston, substantially as described.

13. The combination, with the main-valveshifting piston, of the independent valves p s, respectively connected by inlet and eX- haust passages with the opposite ends of the cylinder of said 1nain-valve-shifting piston for actuating it in opposite directions, Valves (1 t, also respectively connected by inlet and exhaust passages with the opposite ends of said cylinder for working said pistons in opposite directions, the conductors valve-shifter, and the levers controlled by said shifter for working said valves, said levers and shifter adapted to open one or the other of valves q tinternlediately to opening valves 1) 3, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as inyinvention I'have signed my name, in presence of two witnesses, this 19th day of April, 35

AUGUST SUN DH.

Witnesses:

W. J. MORGAN, A. P. THAYER. 

